Bandicoot of War
by Crash Freak
Summary: Crispen is searching for his sister as he runs into a giant beat attacking the city he loves. Now after slaying the beast, he must hurry yo save the Mojo Gods and his sister, but can he arise to the challenges ahead?
1. The Prologue

Prologue: The Start of Chaos

The sun shone brightly on the Summer's day. The air was crisp and the crops were ripe. Stepping out in her white dress was the niece of a powerful figure, Corruptuious. For years he has overlooked the world of mortals, envying them. He did so because he was just a mere figurehead for the Mojo Gods. His niece, however, was respected by them as a powerful being. She loved to cause havoc and chaos within the mortal realm.

"Uncle," she said, looking back at him.

"What is it, Nagia?" Corruptuious asked, glaring at her with cold eyes, obviously deeply envying her.

"I sense the Gods wanting to bring me down and bring you with me," Nagia said.  
"What!?" gasped Corruptuious in disbelief. "I will have no such thing happen. I've been thinking it was time to show them who is really the powerful one here. Yes, that's it. Call Ingenuity!"

"The one that calls himself In-Gen?" Nagia asked.

Corruptuious nodded silently.

"Very well, uncle. Anything to keep my power." She hurried to find the one her uncle wanted.

In the valleys of Ethos, a young warrior was training to fight off the annual attempt of the invading Pigeons to take over his land. He shot arrows at targets painted by his sister, Ana. This warrior went by a few names – Slayer (which was his favorite nickname in particular), Blade, Cratos, but his birth name was Crispen. With his Marsupian armor, which consisted of a used black shield, a rusted bow and arrow set, and a sharped blade, which Crispen called his Crimson Crystal because it was shaded red and made from crystal. He took it out of his pouch and ran up to a tree, quickly slashing it in a sequence and landed on his feet, logs falling into a bin near where the tree once stood. He smirked and dusted his hands off, as a way of giving himself a job well done.

Crispen's sister, Melda, walked out of the small hut they lived in and waved at him, usually beckoning him inside when it was going to rain or when night fell. Now wasn't the case of either, so it was unusual why she was out here now.

"Crispen!" she called out, hopping up and down in a frantic manner. Her golden blond hair that was tied back into a soft, long tail bounced with her as the dress she wore seemed like it was bouncing slower than her actual body. "Crispen! It is urgent that you come here at once! I have something I want to speak to you about!"  
Crispen sighed and put his blade away and put the bow and arrow back in his pouch, then headed toward her. He stopped for a moment, hearing a sudden rumbling and felt the Earth beneath him act as if it were about to move. He had his hand on the handle of his blade, growling and looking around, then jumping back when it seemed something struck his position from the sky, causing dust to fly around him and blind his path. He tried to run for Melda, but soon found where she had been was now bare. He looked around, a panicked yet angry expression on his face, then found a stone in place of where Melda had been. On it was a symbol of one of the Saints of Ethos. He knew where the symbol lay and thought it was a sign, a direction if you will. He placed it in his pouch and marched onto the dirt road, the wind blowing against his orange fur and making his nose bounce a little. He narrowed his eyes as he put his gloved hand in front of them to see the city ahead of him. He then heard a distant roar, beginning to dart toward it now. The stone was unknowingly beginning to glow, amplifying its color within Crispen's pouch.

When he arrived at the gate to the city, he took the stone out, then began to fumble it in his hands as it felt piping hot. The stone seemed to land inside of a crevice that was made inside of a rock and began to glow much brighter, possibly melting a man's hand off easily. Crispen covered his eyes as the light, as white as a star exploding, seemed to light up the area around him and a spirit popped out, forming into what looked like a mask.

"I greet you, Crispen!" it said, in a manly voice. "I am Asspin! I was summoned to protect you by Melda. I will be by your side anywhere you go for I too fear great danger for you."

Crispen just tilted his head and shrugged it off, seeming like Melda was captured everyday, which was partly true because of the Pigeons. He opened the gate, running into the city and looked around, gasping and jumping back as a large piece of the town hall fell just a few feet into the sand in front of him. He took his blade out and looked around, growling. Armored Pigeons seemed to come out of nowhere and surround him, sporting shields and armor vests.

"I think we should throw up the white flag," Asspin pleaded Crispen, who just rolled his eyes.

With a slash, he cut through one of the Pigeons, landing behind another and slicing his head off. Blood spewing everywhere, soon making a small puddle as he jumped to the next Pigeon, taking out two of them with beheading moves, the puddle of blood soon increasing in size. He grunted, sending the last of the surrounding Pigeon soldiers. He chuckled, shaking his head, then blinked when the ground began to shake again, hearing a distant roar, which came from the center of the city. There were blood-curdling screams from every direction, crunching of bones as the monster chewed on its victims.

Crispen headed toward the sound of the monster post haste, now sweating or even panting as he was happy he finally had a challenge. As soon as he rounded the corner, he stopped and his stared the creature down, his mouth agape. It was a giant gorilla of some sorts, though round ears and covered in gray fur that was too light to be a gorilla's.

"Run for your lives!" cried a citizen. "Kong the Ruthless will not stop until Ethas is destroyed!" He ran past Crispen.

"Ethas... The capital of Ethos?" Asspin asked, obviously ignorant of the city he was released in.

Crispen nodded with an annoyed expression on his face. He looked around, charging for what looked like a fruit stand, trying to divert the giant eyesore's attention. He grinned as he got the giant's attention, leaping quite a way up into the air and then landed on top of the rather sturdy fruit stand. The eyesore roared loudly, pounding his chest with his massive paws and jumped down, roaring again. Crispen anticipated this and stood firm ground in the face of the charging beast while the merchant of the fruit stand ran off.

The beast smashed into the fruit stand as Crispen seemed to time his leap perfectly as he had his blade out and landed on the beast's face stabbing it into it's left eye, having blood rush from it immediately as it roared out in pain, then began to swipe at Crispen, though missing him terribly. He pulled the blade out and was able to jump off, timing another perfect move as if time had stopped and was able to slice through the beast's left arm, making it fall off. With another well-timed leap he was able to thrust his blade into the beast's chest, literally going through the beast and have it topple forward in agonizing pain.

Crispen dropped down onto the ground and put his blade away, sniffing the air and chuckled, posing with a rather obscene arrogance. The sky seemed to darken without him taking notice to it but Asspin quickly did, cowering behind the gloating hero.

"Um... Crispen," he said, in a rather shaky voice. "Do you have the faintest clue what's going on?"

Crispen looked up and looked around, then went into a battle stance when he heard thunder. A light suddenly surrounded both of the heroes, soon lifting Crispen off of the ground and toward the clouds. He was shocked to be lifted off of the ground so easily. A sudden stroke of light was seen through the clouds, as if it was coming toward him as a hand. He reached out and grabbed it, then was quickly pulled into the sky, landing on a rather solid cloud, looking up staring at Ethos, the a Mojo God himself.  
"Crispen," he said, in a rather welcoming voice. "I am Ethos, Guardian of the valleys in all of Wumptasia. I have seen you fight and am quite impressed. I leave you with a new position that the Gods create for the mortals that they seek to be powerful." He raised his hand up high, the leaves on his band beginning to rustle as his muscular form began to glow brightly. A concentrated beam hit Crispen and made him groan, making a powerful force began to flow through his veins. Muscles formed on his scrawny arms, creating strong and powerful biceps. His legs became strong as well, becoming muscular to a point where it went with his new muscular chest and limbs. He roared out himself, surprising himself, too. He looked over himself and grinned,then felt a red marking go across his biceps, then partly his chest.

"Crispen, you have been granted the strength of a Mojo God," Ethos smiled joyously. "For you are now the Bandicoot of War. Unofficially, of course. To earn your full credit as this new type of Mojo God, you must find Corruptuious and slay him. We do not know how long it will take you and it's a guarantee that Melda may be long gone by the time you are able to defeat Corruptuious."  
Crispen raised a brow and narrowed his eyes, spinning around in and angry fashion, flashing his blades, then stood in a battle stance when he stopped. He spotted a crate and growled at it, then slashed it up with his blade.

"Whoa," Asspin said. "Instead of Crispen, you should have been called Crash. You sure have a great desire for destruction."

"Excellent name for his new Godliness," Ethos said. "He will now be addressed as Crash by any mortals he encounters."

With those final words, the surroundings lit up greatly and Crispen- now Crash- fell forward in a drunken haze, passing out almost immediately.


	2. Chapter 1: The Dawn of Disaster

Chapter 1: The Dawn of Disaster

At that fateful moment, Crispen was now deemed Crash. His life taken from him, but he still had his memories. From that moment on, he was starting life as a new man. One whose world would nearly corrupt his once very protective soul. As time passed, he grew weary of being able to save Melda in time. He still had not found her or Corruptuious, but he wasn't giving up. A fool was to dream of how successful he'd become, but the warrior sets out to do it without thinking, that was his motto.

Meanwhile, up in the high mountains, Corruptuious chuckled, having had an ongoing war against the Mojo Gods ever since he had stolen Melda from them.

"How is the girl in the dungeon?" he asked one of his warriors.

"The girl is starving, my lord," a warrior said, having filled his own armor quite nicely with fat. "She wishes to be released, but we deny her. She's getting restless also. She said she has had plans for a suitor, but somehow knows he is gone as his passion for her has died out by waiting for so long."

"I do not care," Corruptuious snapped, with a flare of his yellow nostrils. "She will die soon, I'm sure of it. Then the Mojo Gods only have that pathetic brother of hers, whom I can easily defeat. It is not without question he's been searching for her, but he is no god. Unlike me, he has no power. I will crush him like the my beasts crush a man with their bare teeth." He cackled maniacally.

"I believe this, my lord," the warrior said. "I believe we can feed her though instead of starve her to death."

"You insolent fool!" snapped Corruptuious. "If we feed her regularly, she will most certainly not perish!" His meaty yellow hand stroked his long beard as if he was suddenly thinking.

"I'm sorry, my lord," the warrior said, bowing his head in shame. "I noticed you have a thought. Care to share?"

"Yes," Corruptuious said rather calmly. "It is the second year the girl has been separated from her brother. Surely she should of died by now by how little water or food we bring to her."  
"Maybe hope is keeping her alive?" the warrior inquired.

"Hope?" Corruptuious laughed. "Hope is only a word. It could not make her last so long. No, it couldn't. I think someone has been sneaking food to her. How does she look?"

"Surprisingly beautiful, my lord," the warrior said, blushing slightly. "Large breasts, too. Ingenuity has taken a liking to them."

"Really now?" Corruptuious asked.

"If she perhaps spent some prison time with Ingenuity, then maybe that will shorten her life." He chuckled a bit.

"I'll see to it that she's chained up into Ingenuity's quarters," the warrior bowed and then ran off.

"Soon the Mojo Gods will be convinced I am not bluffing," Corruptuious said under his breath.

On the evening of the second night of the ongoing torture for our hero, Crash walked down a dirt path that connected the city of Athos and the Valley of Sorrow. His fur had gotten ashy, making it lose its orange glow. He took his blade out as he reached quite a few tall trees, creating a massive dense collection of vines. He looked around as all he saw was darkness surrounding him in the forest, though Asspin followed him, glowing dimly to provide some light.

"We are really going to the Valley of Sorrows?" he asked.

Crash nodded, slicing through more vines. He soon came up to a clearing where it was apparent there was a small town, more or less abandoned or forgotten by the self-proclaimed "important people". He walked into one of the run down buildings, which had the roof missing and part of the north wall missing as well as everything inside being covered by dust. Though an old dingo seemed to be sitting in the building, reading a book silently to himself.

"Excuse me, sir," Asspin called out to the dingo. "Where are we, good sir?"

The dingo looked back at them, though looked more so like a combined version of two animals. He had crocodile teeth instead of his own.

"G'Day, mates," he said, in a rather peculiar accent that neither Asspin or Crash had heard before. "You are in West Old Athos. Normally, we don't get visitors such as yourselves. What brings you here?"

"We are on a quest to find Corruptuious, but we need to get past the Valley of Sorrows first," Asspin said, rather confidently.

"Never heard of that guy," the dingo said. "Though I do know a way to that death trap you two want to go through."

"Really?" Asspin asked. "Then please tell us the way. It's been two years now. We really need some directions."

"Alright," the dingo nodded, pulling out a scroll and ripped a feather off a nearby wild chicken and dipped it in some ink, then tried to write on the scroll. "Hmm... This doesn't write like my old pen. Damn these new model pens..."  
"Well, that's a feather, sir," Asspin said. "You need a Quill pen. Isn't that the one on your table right there?"  
The dingo looked then gave a momentarily sigh at his own absent mindedness, the grabbed it and began to write on the scroll since there was ink still on the tip. Crash looked at his guardian, then back at the dingo.

"What is your name, good sir?" Asspin asked curiously.

"It's Dingus," the dingo replied. "Although whatever friends still visit me call me Dingo." He then handed Crash the scroll with his mark on it. Crash looked at it, then placed it in the pack on his back. "Be careful though, going through that valley. It is said to have some lost souls you'd need to combat just to get out of the hellfire they unleash. They're said to be directly from Hades, trapped in the valley by the Mojo Gods themselves."

At the mention of the Mojo Gods, Crash growled and drew his blade, holding it up to Dingo's throat.

"Easy there, Crash," Asspin said. "I'm sorry, Dingo. He gets really angry if you even say those words. He's begun to blame them for his sister's captivity by Corruptuious."

"Oh my," Dingo nodded, bowing. "I'm so sorry, but you do look oddly familiar. Almost like a God, even."  
Crash growled again, causing Dingo to jump back this time. Asspin sighed and pushed Crash back a bit.

"This man is helping us," he said in a hushed tone. "Quit trying to kill him every time he mentions that word."  
Crash sighed and nodded, putting his blade away. He then headed for what used to be the archway for the entrance into the destroyed hut.

"Goodbye and good luck, noble hero," Dingo said, bowing slightly.

Crash walked out of the hut completely, pulling the scroll out and began to look over it, raising a brow when he noticed it was a map instead of words. He then put it away and ran toward the dark mountains that seemed to be lit up by the midnight moon in the sky.  
The green ivy on the trees and the peculiar plants seemed foreign to our hero. As he ran down the path toward the mountains, his memory kept flashing in his mind. He was haunted by this hunt for his sister. He slowed to a stop, placing his hand on his head as the memories and flashbacks began to race through his feeble mind. These happened often, which made him descend into a slow madness. His eyes sometimes played tricks on him, making him see something that wasn't really there. His ears also played their tricks. He'd hear his sister's soothing voice as she sang to the birds. The image of her doing so and the sound would also play in unison sometimes. He loathed this. Leaning against a large rock, the sound again arose to his ears from his mind. He looked around, swearing it was real this time. The image of Melda wearing a golden gown and letting a bird land softly on hr finger soon faded into view. She wore a blue tiara on her long, golden hair, which was braided into a long ponytail. The dress she wore went only to her right knee, exposing much of the curvy nature of the orange furred left leg. The curves were well defined, making her legs look very desirable. Though her dress also hugged her upper body rather perfectly. It outlined her curves, making it very obvious to a male that she was showing off, but not too much. Her beauty was natural, her imaginary orange fur blowing a bit in the wind since it was somewhat longer than most females would have it. The lighter brown fur that defined her cheeks took the light that was around her and seemed to make her all the more beautiful. Her small black nose showing a tip of that white light on its tip. Her green eyes also reflected the small amount of light around her as she continued to hum.

For Crash, this was too much. He growled out, drawing his blade and smashed it into a nearby tree, causing the tip to go right through it. He managed to pull it out, then swiped at the tree, cutting it down completely, having it make a loud thump in the middle of the darkness. He held his head, breathing a little heavily as his fists clenched, one around the handle of his blade. This memory of his sister was the last joyful thing he witnessed her do, which is why it was haunting him so much. He cursed himself for not quickly coming to her aid. He thought of the possibility of being taken in her place, a self-sacrifice of sorts. These weren't the only memories that plagued him. More gruesome thoughts and dreams haunted him.

He just sighed a forced sigh and sat down, laying against the rock he was near and closed his eyes, in need of some definite rest. Asspin stayed a bit away, weary of Crash's control with a blade right now, so he slept a few feet away.

The nightmare is one Crash will never forget, as it seems to play on his mental reel of dreams quite often lately. It's as if the theater has run out of plays. It started out nicely, with him approaching the city of Athos. He walked past merchants and peasants, all of them seeming to look at him as if he was already unwelcome to this city. He saw a rather stout man trying to sell some fruit that was native to where Crash came from. He approached him, then that's when it became hazy and the images began to turn dark read and the cling of blades could be heard, then gasping and screaming as someone shouted, "the merchant! Oh, the merchant! He is dead! Slain by the anger of the Mojo Gods!" Then there was another slash and sound of flesh being ripped apart as blade sliced through the man. The sound of more screaming citizens could be heard. That was the last to be heard before the dream seemed to suddenly flash, as if fast forwarding the events between then and the most haunting event of all. He was captured by the warriors of Athos, then thrown into the queen's chamber. She stood before him, tall, elegant looking. She was a mammal, very similar to Crash, but another species. She was a cat, chosen by the Mojo Gods to run Athos, as the hieroglyphics above her chair stated.

"What brings you to my city to create such chaos?" Lira, whom was the queen of Athos, asked.

Crash didn't answer.

"How dare you be silent!" Lira snapped. "Answer me, now!"

More guards came in with Asspin being held inside of a metal barred cage.

"Who's this?" she demanded.

"You majesty, I am Asspin, traveler with and protector of the mighty Crash," Asspin said, bowing like only a floating mask could. "He cannot talk. He was never taught to."  
"Ha. I do not believe such a lie," Lira laughed in a sarcastic manner. "Tell me why you are here!" She pointed at Crash, looking as if she was going to smite him with that finger.

Crash mistakenly chuckled a little. He found it quite humorous of how much power she thought she had.

"You, mask!" Lira growled. "Why is this mortal laughing at me? If you speak for him, then you can think for him!"

"Well... I cannot think for him, so I do not know," Asspin said, coming off slightly flabbergasted at that allegation. "What I do know is that he is on a hunt for Corruptuious. He has taken his sister and the Gods have granted him immense power, but to use it completely, he must defeat the mighty one that opposes the Gods themselves."

"So a personal quest, is it?" Lira asked, laughing mockingly now. "You will not find those answers here. The Gods tell me nothing lately."

Crash growled a little, as if he was seeing through a lie.

"I wouldn't stretch the truth around this warrior, your majesty," Asspin quickly stated. "He is unpredictable. A beast lays within him as some would say."

"He's as predictable as any other old warrior," Lira scoffed. "Take them away."

Crash growled again, reaching for his blade and jumping out of reach from the guards behind him, landing behind Lira and held the blade to her throat.

"He doesn't believe you!" Asspin gasped out. "Just tell him what you know and he may spare your life!"

"Never!" Lira growled, trying to get away from Crash. He threw her against the royal throne and sliced his blade effectively and effortlessly through some of the guards, soon getting them down to a small, cowardly number. He then turned to Lira, whom was now frightened of him, not believing him to be a normal mortal anymore.

"Just speak the knowledge the Gods have given you," Asspin cried out, not wanting to see a queen die a pointless death.

"I honestly do not know anything about these events!" Lira cried through sudden tears. "Please, spare my life! I will give you the city, the riches, anything you desire!"

Crash still refused to believe her and his blade came down and then the dream faded to darkness, the ending never playing. Deep down, he knew what he did. Out of anger, he had slain the queen of Athos. He did a horrible thing for he realized she was indeed ignorant of the Mojo Gods and Corruptuious' ongoing battle.


	3. Chapter 2: Crippling Circumstances

Chapter 2: Crippling Circumstances

The mighty Bandicoot of War did not know the challenges of the Valley of Sorrow. He was washing off in the river as Asspin waited for him at a large rock. His bruises and scars reminded him of the battle field he's fought and walked through. He sighed and looked up to the sky, seeing dark gray clouds that usually signified rain. A memory came up of long ago, of when he was younger.

The memory played itself very vividly, as if it had happened just recently. The village Crash had grown up in was under fire, both a younger Melda and a younger Crash were hurried into a safe haven. Screams of agony were heard as flaming arrows impaled both villagers and some buildings in the village. Fire crackled to and fro, causing orange blazes of death as far as one could see from the safe haven. Crash watched in horror as the flesh and fur was burned from some of his parent's acquaintances and even family members. He held onto his father's hand while Melda held onto their mother's. Their father was a well-known man and would do anything for the village. He pulled away from Crash and his grip, hugging him close, then ran outside with his blades. There was the sounds of slashing enemies and groans of agony for a while, but then it fell deadly silent.

More silence came and their mother grew more and more worried. Pulling herself from Melda's grip, she gave both her children a hug and gave her necklace to her daughter. She took what she could find as a weapon, which was a butcher's knife. Crash saw Melda cowering a bit as she felt alone now as the eerie silence crept back into the safe haven. He hugged her close. Despite being so young, he was an elder brother and felt like he had a duty to protect her.

The silence only grew stronger in the night. He wanted to go check on their parents as well, but he didn't want to leave his sister like their parents left them to go check things out themselves. He held Melda's hand as he slowly made his way to the archway. The wretched smell of decaying bodies immediately wafted by his and Melda's nose, causing them to cover them with their free hands. He looked around, seeing dead bodies at least half a mile down the path. This didn't appeal much to Crash or his sister. As they neared the town hall, which was located in the center of the village, the body count seemed to triple at least visually. They got to the archway entrance to the town hall, which was covered by a rather ruined curtain. As soon as Crash opened it, he jumped back, noting the blood covered walls and the dead, rotting and some headless corpses lying on the ground. There were some that were stuck to the wall thanks to some long swords and they just looked in horror that right at the center peace of the town hall, their parents were impaled, one on top of the other, on the statue of the town's founder's sword. There was a deep, intimidating voice cackling far off in the distance. Crash's fists clenched as Melda clung to him, sobbing. He thought he saw the mark on the victims, which seemed to be the letter C burned into their fur on their faces that showed the eyes of a dead soul, like the way the bodies died trapped the soul within them for eternity.

The memory faded away, but the expressions on his parent's cold, lifeless faces haunted Crash until this very day. Now that he was done bathing, he had put his clothing back on. He took his blade out and walked back to where Asspin was, who was no longer in the place he had left the mask. He shrugged it off, not really giving a second thought about it as he looked at Dingo's map again.

He began to walk toward the mountains again, looking around as it was broad daylight and any attacker could easily see him, which made him a bit paranoid. He gazed around, having a feeling that he was being watched. He held his blade's handle that he had hand made for his own preference tightly, slashing the green vines away to open a clear path for him.

Asspin could be seen once Crash got a quarter of a way to the mountains. Fortunately, Crash was quick on his feet. He had to be to be a great warrior in his village. Asspin looked back and noticed him, looking quite surprised.

"I was wondering what was taking so long," he said, rather bluntly. "If I had legs, they'd be aching by now. What took so long anyway?" He then caught onto the fact Crash could not talk on his own and sighed. "Don't answer that. Come now, we're almost to the Valley of the Sorrow."

Crash nodded and then began to follow him. He'd merely use Asspin for a shield, as he had no other use for the mask. Quite frankly, he didn't want the floating nuisance to even follow him, but so far he was the only means of communication with any village people he met and needed help from.

Slowing down, Crash became more cautious as they both approached a large lake with a rather grim color to it. There stood a few feet away from him was an idol, wielding to large daggers. He stepped up to it and Asspin went over to the small part of it that had some sort of hieroglyphic on it.

"Judging from this," he said. "I can make out its an enchanted sword, but I cannot figure out by what or who originally owned it."

Ignoring Asspin and his cautious approach, Crash just put his own blade away and then grabbed the handles of the two daggers and pulled with all of his might, grunting as neither would budge at first. He pulled harder; unaware of the daggers beginning to slide slowly from the rock they were stuck in. A sudden presence of another worldly power began to fill the area around him. He managed to finally yank the blades free, gripping the handles tightly. He then groaned out as a searing hot pain began to go through his hands. A small amount of smoke began to float from his hands as he was forced to bring the blades down and heard the cling against the ground. He looked down and picked up the blades again, an odd marking having appeared on both of his hands that seemed identical to the carving in the rock where the blades used to be. The sky turned gray and clouds suddenly ganged up on one another as thunder roared above the lake before him.

"I think I know what these words are," Asspin said with a low voice. "No, it cannot be. The Rituitious Blades… Crash, quickly! We must flee! Rituitious will come to claim his blades quite soon!"

Crash just shrugged and waited for this Rituitious to even faintly try to remove a weapon capable of possibly thwarting his plans to save Melda and destroy Corruptious.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble. It immediately intensified, causing rocks to shift and fall. A few trees fell toward Crash and he managed to roll out of the way of most of them, but it was a near-strike for one of the trees. He growled, looking around as his green eyes flared like fire with the anger building up in his system. They felt like acid whenever he caught Asspin in his vision. This made the mask hide behind a large rock.

The ground underneath Crash's feet began to shake again. This time he had no time to jump as a grim, yet masculine, hand shot out from the ground and grabbed his leg. Then another hand did the same with Crash's other leg. He tried to slice at the hands, but it did no good as a hole began to form where the hands were sticking up. Then he fell through.

The low growls and the ashy ground below him finally woke Crash up from his fall. Rituitious stood before him, about four yards away though.

"Good to see you're up," the Komodo dragon seemed to hiss. "Now, I'll gladly be taking my blades back. "Through the heat of battle, that is." He had his own rather large blade already dawn. "Draw your blades, boy."

Crash narrowed his eyes and drew both of his new blades, getting into a battle stance. The Komodo dragon before him seemed to have a great advantage. His muscles bulged and wounds from battle were apparent all over his body. He look far from being incapable of destroying Crash right then and there, but something about him gave off the impression that he loved to fight honorably. This impression wasn't deceiving in the least.

Just as Crash was done collecting thoughts about this mysterious Komodo dragon, he had to dodge the sudden flash of sharp sword that nearly cut his head off. He made a dash for a rock that was located near a larger rock, avoiding fire as it blasted out of the ground intermittently. Using his blades, he jumped up toward the top of the rock and stabbed them into it, creating an easy way of climbing up the said rock. He did successfully make it, but he barely missed being hit by what seemed to be Rituitious' blade acting like a boomerang as it came back to his strong, unforgiving grip. He cackled as he easily leaped from his ground to the higher rock, which Crash was aiming for.

"This is one opponent you cannot defeat, my dear boy," he hissed, grinning like a mad man. "Face your demise willingly. No one has ever gotten my blades and lived."  
Crash just growled at him, looking at the blades and smirked when a faint aura of orange seemed to appear. He leaped from the rock, slicing at Rituitious, as the aura grew stronger. It caused the Komodo dragon to fall from the rock, but land on his feet, only with a slight cut on his chest.

"Interesting attempt," he hissed, seeming like he was only slightly impressed. "You may be a challenge after all." He cackled as the red lava around the supposed arena began to crackle and rise up like waves in an ocean and then the lava headed straight for Rituitious. A sudden loud roar then filled the area and Crash had to hold onto a ledge to avoid being hit with lava or being flung against the wall, which would make him become an easy target.

When the lava finally subsided from being sucked into Rituitious' body, Crash let go of the ledge and readied his blades as he noticed a new creature, which resembled Rituitious, stood before him. It roared, its enormous claw swiping down at Crash, whom dodged it easily. He noticed the ground where the lava had been was now accessible and revealed some elevated pieces of rock, leading to a ledge where he could strike at the new beast easily.

Again, he dodged the swiping claw. He then ran toward the first elevated rock, the beast's giant fist seem to follow him as it rapidly slammed down on the elevated rocks as Crash ran past them. He soon got to the ledge, coming quite close to his demise as the beast's giant fist barely missed its connecting blow. He pulled himself up and onto the platform, then took off, running out to the tip and leaping for the beast's head and grunted out, stabbing both blades into both of his eyes, then pulling them out as he jumped back and avoided the swiping hands of the beast as the blades were stabbed into its neck, then chest and arms. Crash landed back on the platform, watching as the creature cried out in pain. Its body lit up like a red candle, then suddenly faded out, turning black and into ashes.  
As Crash just stared at this sight, the sight of slaying a powerful being such as Rituitious, a light beam seemed to open up behind him. He ran to it, unaware of the danger he has now caused for himself and the biggest mistake of his life.


End file.
